Garden in M'sia (Day 136: 27-01-2018)
Above: Shroom in the garden. An extra touch of diversity.
Previously
Man, a whole lot happened the (nearly) 2 months I was gone.
Updates between Day 85 (07-12-2017) and Day 136
-First batch of cover crops (Vigna radiata, Vigna unguiculata and Glycine max) completely died off, leaving the land quite desolate and bare.
-Sunflowers were gone too.
-Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) produced at least 4 fruits.
-Obtained plenty of plants (seeds) from various sources including: Tamarind (Tamarindus indica), Kang kong (Ipomoea aquatica), Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa).
-Obtained some plants in their vegetative state too, including: Pandan (Pandanus amaryllifolius), Spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum), Bamboo (Bambusa sp.?), Zinnia (Zinnia sp.), Ginger (Zingiber officinale), Onions (Allium cepa), Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus).
-Rooted Indian Borage (Plectranthus amboinicus) were transferred to the front plot, in pots, but they showed signs of overwatering, perhaps due to the continuous rains that hit the Malaysian region.
At long last! After a 51 day hiatus, I was finally back in the garden. A lot has changed since my last visit, the garden is no longer teeming with green as it was months ago. Weeds were showing signs of reconquering their land. Among the plants we dubbed 'weeds' were Fringed Spiderflower (Cleome rutidosperma), Old-world Diamond Flower (Oldenlandia corymbosa), Leafflower (Phyllanthus sp.) and Adder's Tongue Fern (Ophioglossum reticulatum), all known to have some form of edibility or medicinal value. I am indeed considering keeping some of them in small quantities, to serve as cover crops, and to experiment with their use in the future.
Above: Ophioglossum reticulatum, the Adder's Tongue Fern. An annoying weed, that could possibly be a useful food plant and ground cover.
Below: Oldenlandia corymbosa is another common weedy plant that has medicinal properties.
Above: The Fringed spiderflower (Cleome rutidosperma) is yet another potentially useful 'weed'. Its beautiful flowers attract pollinators too, as an added bonus.
The butterfly peas were thriving, onions too. And the gingers were becoming established. Indian snakeweed (Stachytarpheta jamaicensis) and Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum) were also littered across the entirety of the main plot. The soil was crawling with soil fauna, ostensibly due to the rain the previous day, until the afternoon sun baked the soil moisture away. I really need to cover the soil quick, or allow nature to do it for me with 'weeds'.
Above: Indian snakeweed (Stachytarpheta jamaicensis) was originally one of the plants I wanted as part of the cover crop mix. Glad to see some beginning to thrive.
Anyways, the kitchen plot was slightly cooler, with the soil fauna such as millipedes and isopods persisting into the midday. A beautiful cross spider (Argiope sp.) had spun her web between some dying mung bean plants (Vigna radiata). Long-legged flies (Family: Dolichopodidae) were particularly abundant, dancing about the plot and even landing on my hand a few times.
Above: I identify as a spider fan. So this pretty Argiope spider was a nice surprise for me.
Back to the main plot, I spotted a few grasshoppers, a leaf beetle feeding on the declining okra (Abelmoschus esculentus), loads of the aforementioned long-legged flies, some lynx spiders (Oxyopes birmanicus); one had even captured a long-legged fly, aphids with their ant companions (Meranoplus bicolor seemed to be the dominant ant species now, as opposed to Carebara diversa eight weeks ago). Also, sparrows (Passer montanus) were frequenting the main plot, possibly to feast on any seeds they could find on the disturbingly (to me) bare soil.
Above: A voracious lynx spider (Oxyopes birmanicus) dining on a poor long-legged fly.
Below: A decently-sized Javanese grasshopper (Valanga nigricornis). I've seen bigger though!
The aphids were less numerous, very obviously due to the decline of their host plants, the Vigna beans. As a result, less ladybirds were spotted too; I only managed to find two Scymnini ladybirds (one larva and one adult). I had no luck finding the hoverflies which would usually put me in a trance.
The onions, ginger, lemongrass, sunflowers and kang kong my parents planted were taking off, as were the tomato plants, chilli plants and corn. The neem (Azadirachta indica) and tamarind were doing decent too. I also harvested some okra seeds to plant along side some other seeds I sowed like sunflower and kang kong.
Above: Newly sprouted Kang kong (Ipomoea aquatica)
Below: One of the two corn plants (Zea mays) that managed to grow from the abandoned corn cob I threw months ago.
Above: Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) seeds.
Below: A neat row of onions (Allium cepa). My mother cut the leaves for culinary use at the end of the day.
In an attempt to cover some of the bare ground, we bought three varieties of Coleus (Plectranthus scutellarioides) and transferred a Gynura procumbens to the main plot. A kind neighbour also gave us a mulberry plant (most likely Morus nigra), which I placed next to the pandan. They are currently still in their respective pots and will be transferred into the ground when they become established, provided they manage to adapt to the scorching heat and/or strong winds and rain.
Above: Mulberry (Morus sp.) waiting to be transplanted. The overturned coconuts will hopefully help to retain enough moisture for the plant to adapt to the hot environment.
Below: Coleus (Plectranthus scutellarioides) is a beautiful addition to any tropical garden. It is edible too.
Above & below: More Coleus varieties.
I have missed coming here dearly. It felt therapeutic and soothing to be able to look for insects, play with the soil and admire the flowers again, despite the seemingly bleak outlook of the garden (I know it's part of succession gardening though). I hope to come back again soon, as I have plenty more I want to do. To quote an old adage, "A gardener's job is never done.".
Bonus pics:
Above: Marigold (Tagetes sp.) growing pretty nicely.
Above & below: It was butterfly pea (Clitoria ternatea) galore. The thick but (so far) limited bushes of these legumes were providing the most colour to the otherwise dull garden.
Above: It was millipede galore too! Bonus points for you if you can spot the lone isopod/woodlouse in the picture.